News

Review of 2013: October

Businesses vowed ‘the show must go on’ when St Albans District Council announced its Food and Drinks Festival ceremony was cancelled. Poor ticket sales and a lack of support forced the council to call off the awards evening. Winning outlets were instead awarded at the festival finale in St Peter’s Street.

This year’s St Albans Beer and Cider Festival was the best yet with 10,000 real ale enthusiasts through the doors of the Alban Arena.

Harpenden got ready to rock when a charity gig to raise money for a rare genetic disease charity was hosted by Anjali Rundle. The rock tribute concert was in memory of Ms Rundle’s friends, brother and sister, Caroline and Gregory Poupard.

Controversial proposals drawn up by Hertfordshire County Council for a new secondary school in Harpenden caused a stir throughout the town. A row over the Green Belt location of the secondary school, but a need for the facilities set tongues wagging amongst residents and councillors.

St Albans Abbey was to be turned into the ultimate catwalk when the city hosted its very first St Albans Fashion Week. The Cathedral would be home to the UK’s longest indoor front row at it fashion catwalk. Severely autistic teenager Daniel Grundy-Evans was left devastated when his disability bike, used to go on cycle rides with his mother Miriam, was stolen. Ms Grundy-Evans said: “I am very cut up and extremely upset.”

St Albans woman Marion Foster was left outraged after her 96-year-old mother Irene, was left lying on the floor for two hours because an ambulance failed to turn up. Ms Foster said: “This is the NHS and if they are treating people like this then we obviously don’t have an NHS.”

A mouldy sandwich was also the cause of dispute when St Albans mother Mala Mulholland contacted the Review after her three-year-old daughter Roma was served up a mouldy sandwich at Sandridge play area, DJ’s Jungle Adventure.

Mrs Mulholland said she wanted compensation. However play area owner Helen Whittington offered the mother ten free places as a ‘gesture of goodwill’ and said “we are not willing to give Mrs Mulholland money as she requested, when we have no liability to do so.”

Redbourn vicar Rev Will Gibbs made it all the way to Scotland with only £10 in his pocket during a charity hitchhike to raise more than £5,000 in aid of Redbourn Care Group, Open Door St Albans, The Pepper Foundation, Busoga Trust UK and St Andrew’s Clinic for Children.